Morocco is considering suspending its extradition agreement with Spain in a move that could seriously complicate efforts to bring fugitives to justice on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi revealed that the issue is now being discussed within his ministry amid growing frustration in Rabat over what it claims is a lack of reciprocity from Spain.

‘We are currently discussing in the Ministry of Justice the possibility of suspending the application of the extradition agreement between Morocco and Spain,’ Ouahbi said.

His warning comes amid already strained relations between the neighbouring countries and concerns in Morocco over the handling of people wanted by its authorities.

Ouahbi claims Moroccan officials have travelled to Spain to collect fugitives whose extraditions were expected to take place, only to discover that the individual had been released or that the handover would not go ahead.

Morocco, he insists, does not treat Spanish requests in the same way.

‘We apply the same procedure, while we do hand over all the people whose surrender the Spanish request,’ he said.

‘If Spain does not want to respect the surrender procedures or the repatriation procedures, we can suspend these agreements.’

For now, it remains a threat rather than a decision, and the extradition treaty remains in force.

But what would actually happen if Morocco followed through?

Threat to Andalucia’s security

If extradition cooperation deteriorated substantially, the concern would be that wanted criminals could find it harder to be returned across the Strait.

A suspect wanted in Malaga, Cadiz or elsewhere in Spain who fled to Morocco would not suddenly become immune from prosecution, as extradition can still occur on the basis of reciprocity.

However, surrender could become slower, more politically dependent and less predictable, potentially providing wanted criminals more breathing room or time to regroup or escape justice.

Nearly three decades of extradition cooperation

Formal extradition cooperation between Spain and Morocco dates back almost 30 years.

The countries signed their first bilateral extradition convention in Madrid on May 30, 1997, which entered into force in July 1999.

The system was subsequently modernised with a new convention signed in Rabat on June 24, 2009, which ultimately entered into force on September 1, 2012.

Broadly, extradition can be sought for alleged crimes carrying at least two years in prison, while different thresholds apply when someone has already been convicted and is wanted to serve a sentence.

The importance of the relationship was reinforced in 2024 when Spain’s Constitutional Court recognised arrest warrants issued by Moroccan prosecutors for extradition purposes.

Would criminals suddenly have a safe haven in Morocco?

Suspending or even terminating the treaty would not automatically make Morocco a safe haven for criminals wanted in Spain, or vice versa.

Spanish extradition lawyer Miriam Rosales told 20Minutos that extraditions can still take place between countries without a bilateral treaty.

In those circumstances, states can rely on the principle of reciprocity, effectively cooperating on a case-by-case basis.

However, removing the treaty would take away an established framework governing how requests between the two countries are processed.

That could make cases slower, less predictable and more dependent on diplomatic relations and political willingness.

‘The important thing, more than the suspension of the agreement itself, is the background: the breakdown of that good cooperation,’ Rosales said.

‘Extradition is always possible because there are countries with which there are no agreements as such, but in those cases reciprocity between states is used.’

For Spain, the issue is particularly significant because of Morocco’s geographical proximity.

The country has historically been an important destination or transit point for fugitives leaving Spain, while Spain is also home to people sought by Moroccan authorities.

A deterioration in judicial cooperation could therefore have consequences for investigations into organised crime, drug trafficking, terrorism and other serious offences.

Extradition is not automatic

Even under the existing treaty, a Moroccan request does not mean Spain simply puts a wanted person on a plane.

Extradition in Spain involves both judicial and governmental stages.

The Audiencia Nacional examines whether the legal requirements for extradition have been satisfied. There is then a political component to the process, with the Spanish government ultimately involved in whether a surrender proceeds.

This helps explain why Rabat’s claim that Spain is simply failing to hand over wanted people does not necessarily mean Spanish authorities are breaching the agreement.

Morocco tops Spain’s list for rejected requests

Since 2018, Spain has extradited 838 fugitives to countries outside the EU, according to figures covering the period up to the end of June.

Of those, 98 were extradited to Morocco, making it Spain’s second-biggest extradition destination after the United States, which received 105.

But Spanish courts have also rejected 92 Moroccan extradition requests since 2018, more than those from any other country.

The Spanish government has previously explained that extraditions are commonly rejected for established legal reasons, including lack of dual criminality, expiry of statutory limitation periods, failure to meet minimum sentencing thresholds, nationality issues or because the relevant facts have already been adjudicated.

In other words, the large number of refusals does not by itself establish that Spain is refusing to cooperate with Morocco.

Nevertheless, Ouahbi alleges incidents in which Moroccan agents travelled to Spanish airports expecting to take custody of wanted individuals only for the operation to collapse because the person had been released or failed to appear for the flight.

It is these situations that Morocco describes as ‘incomprehensible’.

Could Morocco simply tear up the treaty?

There is an important distinction between suspending its application and formally terminating the convention.

The existing agreement is of unlimited duration, but it contains a mechanism allowing either country to denounce it through diplomatic channels.

According to the terms described in the Spanish reporting, formal denunciation would not take immediate effect, as the treaty would cease to apply one year after notification.

Ouahbi, however, has spoken specifically about potentially suspending its application, and precisely how Rabat would seek to implement such a move would matter legally.

There has so far been no announcement that Morocco has actually suspended or withdrawn from the treaty.

For the moment, therefore, extradition cooperation continues under the existing system.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.